The Palaka Senufo of Cote d’Ivoire

The Palaka Senufo of Cote d’Ivoire, numbering approximately 17,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Senufo people of Cote d'Ivoire who separated from the main Senufo stock before the 1300s, remaining in place as the founding of the Bambara trade town of Kong sent related Senufo groups migrating outward, later colonized by the French and Mandingo They are an Indigenous people, with Senufo as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Gur people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Palaka Senoufo is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Senufo, Palaka

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cote d’Ivoire
People Cluster: Gur
Primary Language(s): Palaka Senoufo (plr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 17,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013124
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Palaka Senufo of Cote d’Ivoire

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Palaka Senoufo
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Sénoufo, Palaka Speakers

Media Resources in Palaka Senoufo:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Palaka Senoufo:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Palaka Senoufo bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Palaka Senufo are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Palaka Senufo:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Palaka Senufo of Cote d’Ivoire

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
readEphesians 2:4-5

Pray that those who have not yet received new life will be made alive together with Christ, saved by grace and raised up with Him to newness of life.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
readPsalm 27:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will strengthen them when they face persecution of any kind for Jesus' name’s sake.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

Senufo, Palaka Across Countries (ROP3 - 107773) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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